Free Deception of the Heart by Ellen Wolf Page B

he could hear Pete and the Spitieris. Maybe he could enjoy his assignment after all.
    ‘Today is introductory .’ Pete was talking again, his voice smooth. ‘Tomorrow I might need you to take notes, Melanie. So you better enjoy your freedom today…’ A round of laughter followed, and Jon’s respect for the Spitieris climbed up yet another notch. For total newbies, they were doing great. They were earning a medal for their acting.
    When h e walked out to join the others, he noticed the way Pete assessed him in a second. For a short moment, Jon had to worry if Pete had changed his mind and sped up his plans for Daniel. Could Pete want Jon to be away with Melanie for that purpose alone? Bernard was quite certain Pete couldn’t resist the extra publicity from Daniel being killed at his reading scheduled for the end of the week.
    ‘ Looks to me as though we have been banned for today.’ Jon smiled at Melanie, and her tentative smile back affected him more than he would have liked. She might just as well be a killer’s right hand, he reminded himself firmly as he stood next to her. She smelled of lilac and peonies. The sweet, delicate fragrance found its way to his nostrils and deeper into his heart.
    ‘I don’t want to impose if you’re busy .’ Was that her way of reeling him in? Making it look as though she didn’t care either way?
    ‘Well, I am absolutely not .’ He grinned, noticing from the corner of his eye that Pete seemed relieved. Jon had to wonder what would have happened if he’d said he was busy. Did they have a backup plan? As it was, he wouldn’t find out.
    It to ok but a moment to get her out of the house. Pete’s visible impatience to start his work with Daniel made leaving with minimal fuss easy.
    ‘What would you like to see?’ he asked. One could tell a lot about a person from what they were interested in. Apart from killing people, of course , he corrected himself sarcastically.
    ‘Piazza Navona’ came the instant answer, Melanie’s eyes sparkling. She looked good when she smiled. Her lovely, delicate features came to life even more.
    His car was parked on the side of the house, the sporty two -seater sparkling in the morning sun. He held the door for her, biting back a smile as her dress rode up and offered him a good look at her slender thighs. But maybe that was a part of her plan and her attempts to pull the hem of her dress lower were well rehearsed ahead of time. He saw Thomas raking the front lawn’s carpet of red and pink petals fallen from the ornamental trees. His job as a gardener fit well, and Jon made a mental note to mention it to him at the next meeting. For now, Jon needed his help. He apologized briefly to Melanie and walked back to the house under the pretense of having forgotten something. She didn’t mind waiting, she said, blissfully unaware of Jon approaching Thomas to make sure Bernard would know where to find him. He was back fast enough to make his lie believable, and her welcoming smile warmed him. He needed to distract himself and fast, before he fell under the spell of her soft brown eyes.
    ‘ Why Piazza Navona?’ he asked, turning to her before he started the car. ‘I would have thought the Collosseum and the Spanish Steps are the most romantic sights around here.’
    ‘I am not much into the romantic part .’ She shook her head, her dark hair waving in the morning breeze. ‘As for Piazza Navona, my reason is rather prosaic really. They say that is where the tartufo dessert was first invented, in one of the cafes. Right now, the Tre Scalini is known as the place to eat it. I thought it would be a nice place to start exploring Rome. Plus, I heard about it plenty of times from my grandmother when she was still alive.’
    ‘ Really?’ That was surprising. He couldn’t remember anything about her grandmother being Italian.
    ‘ That’s where she met my grandfather.’ Melanie nodded, her eyes soft and far away. It wasn’t difficult to guess she must